Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

In the training ground, the crowd surrounded the Southeast Asian mother and child spirits, unable to stop watching.

Setting aside their actual power, the appearance of these mother and child spirits from Southeast Asia was particularly chilling.

Tall and short in stature, their faces blurred, contours faint and translucent, the mother held the child's hand, standing quietly in the center of the training ground.

Just standing there, they exuded an aura of resentment and malevolence. If Chen Lingyun's Soul Summoning Banner wasn't controlling them, they would likely choose a victim to devour on the spot.

"Should we, perhaps, release them?" Su Yunjin suggested.

Ever since learning how such ghostly entities were made, she and Lin Ning were filled with sympathy and compassion for the two victims.

"Good idea. I'll go straight to the Confucian Temple to release them," Chen Lingyun agreed amiably.

"Not release, silly," Lin Ning immediately corrected, "I mean liberate them, and send them off for reincarnation."

"That's possible," Yan Yu said, "In that case, let's have Lin Ning recite scriptures a hundred thousand times to dissolve the victims' resentment."

Lin Ning promptly kicked him.

"This is why I say you're all laymen," Zhao Yuanzhen said disdainfully, "Ghosts like these, burdened with heavy resentment, can't be reincarnated just yet. Usually, the Buddhist Sect would suppress them somewhere, letting time gradually erode their vindictiveness... Don't even think about anything else before their spite is worn away."

"So we have to find a temple?" Su Yunjin pondered aloud.

"The Confucian Temple wouldn't do?" Chen Lingyun feigned ignorance.

"Don't be silly," Yan Yu decided firmly, "What temple would dare accept a real ghost?"

The group fell silent.

If it were some kind of evil creature, some temples might be willing to take them in for liberation, but these were real ghosts—who wouldn't be scared? Even monks are made of flesh!

"Now that Spiritual Energy has resurged, aren't there any truly accomplished monks who have attained the Way?" Lin Ning was still somewhat reluctant to give up.

"I'll ask the Religious Affairs Office," Chen Lingyun took out her phone.

After a few phone calls, she got a response:

The affairs of cultivators were not their concern.

Helpless, the group temporarily dropped the topic of liberation and release.

In fact, Yan Yu did know of a few actual monks who had attained the Way and were currently studying the Buddhist teachings in temples. They might be willing to help suppress the evil spirits. But as Chen Lingyun wasn't keen and there wasn't a pressing need, they decided against it.

In a world teeming with butchers, what was the point of collecting the bodies of the deceased? No matter how diligently you did it, could you keep up with the speed at which killers operated?

Better to refine the ghosts properly. Every time they killed a Yin sorcerer in the future, they could potentially save dozens, even hundreds, of innocent lives.

"What do you think?" Chen Lingyun communicated telepathically with Yan Yu.

"For offensive purposes, they're sufficient for the early stages," Yan Yu assessed, "The ability to ignore physical attacks brings a lot of convenience. The problem is that it comes from a foreign supernatural system, and you don't have the corresponding evil refinement techniques to enhance them. Moreover, even if you had such techniques, refining isn't easy.

Torturing souls has negative public repercussions. So, just regard them as transitional assets for now and consider liberating them for reincarnation when you get better ghosts in the future."

"That's what I was thinking too," Chen Lingyun said with a grin.

Yan Yu wasn't too worried about Chen Lingyun's ghost deployment because her value to the team lay more in strategy and commanding on the battlefield. Besides, the duties of an Envoy were typically more relevant in the later stages and they relied on their teammates for early stage support.

No rush, no rush!

Turning to look at Lin Ning, she was currently practicing swordsmanship with Zhao Yuanzhen.

Lin Ning was good at adapting but awkward with wielding power, so Yan Yu had two demands for her: first, to enhance her power-wielding ability, and second, to attack proactively as much as possible.

The ability to wield power would come from countless battles, there was no need for haste.

As for an aggressive style, she was gradually adapting. Lin Ning's nature was competitive and conscientious, and she was quite suited for the straightforward Sword Immortal class.

When Yan Yu told her to focus on offense, she cranked up her aggression to the max, even forcing Zhao Yuanzhen to switch to defense at times—Zhao Yuanzhen was, after all, a Cultivator who had fought in another world for at least two and a half years. The fact that Lin Ning repeatedly made her defend was impressive.

Watching for a while, Yan Yu found little to critique. Letting her continue like this was the right move—she was definitely on track to reach Valkyrie class status in the future.

Looking further, Su Yunjin had already mastered the first three forms of the Southern Dipper Galaxy Secret Art, and her current practice focused on combining Taoism Method with swordsmanship.

For instance, using Jiaochong to shoot the target into the air, then striking with Coral Tears; or using Li Fan to knock down the target, followed by a Coral Tears-inflicted kill... It was clear she had recognized the issue with her lack of killing power and was consciously strengthening it.

After inspecting the condition of the team, Yan Yu's attention suddenly turned to Xie Ruoxi playing with her phone on the side.

This beautiful useless creature! Qi Changping had already told me the paperwork was through. Although it hadn't officially been presented to the Privy Council, she was now a cultivator. Yet here she was, being a salted fish!

"Playing with your phone?!" Yan Yu snatched the phone without ceremony, "How dare you slack off on my training ground?"

"Give it back!" Xie Ruoxi instinctively tried to snatch it back but then realized she wasn't tall enough to succeed. So, she changed tack and pleaded, "If I'm not on my phone, I have nothing else to do. I don't understand what you guys are training..."

"If you don't understand, can't you memorize it first?" Yan Yu scolded sternly.

"I can't memorize it!"

"Can't the brain remember? Don't you know how to take notes?"

Xie Ruoxi was so anxious that tears were about to fall:

"I'll use my phone, I'll use my phone to take notes, that should be fine, right? Just give me back my phone already!"

Although he was teasing the young girl, the way it sounded started to seem like he was chiding her affectionately, causing the surrounding girls to slow down in their training moves without stopping.

Yan Yu also sensed something was off and scoffed to himself:

What a joke! As the strongest in this world, would I really create trouble for myself?

He tossed the phone to Lin Ning, who quickly reached out to catch it, and heard Yan Yu instruct:

"Lin Ning, you teach her the Three Arts and Five Spells. Make sure she doesn't slack off."

"Okay." Lin Ning promptly agreed.

Although he didn't expect Lin Ning, the hardworking striver, to inspire the pretty but useless girl to even a bit of initiative, as long as she could be prevented from slacking off, that was enough.

More importantly, Yan Yu was actually more concerned about how to cultivate Xie Ruoxi in a certain direction.

In his past life, Xie Ruoxi chose to pursue magic as her profession, and what she practiced was the highly difficult Thunder Method. After all, her talents were exceptional, and her True Yuan was plentiful and fierce, so naturally she should practice powerful magic with high difficulty to maximize her combat strength.

But the mysterious realms that produced the Thunder Method were either yet to emerge or were exceedingly difficult to conquer...

And in the end, wasn't it up to me to deal with it! Xie Ruoxi, with all her talent, can't help at all, so what's wrong with calling her useless?

Yan Yu may have cursed in his mind, but after the venting, he started to ponder long-term plans, fitting Xie Ruoxi's issue into his schedule as well.

Sigh, how can I, the strongest in this world, be so busy! There must be something wrong here, where's my secretary?

I need to find a secretary fast!

Yan Yu's gaze swiftly swept over the people present, silently contemplating in his heart.

Chen Lingyun is someone with a clear background, suitable for strategizing, but can't be burdened with tasks, lest her temperament lead to trouble eventually.

Zhao Yuanzhen, on the other hand, is a dual-cultivating partner, lacking in both strategy and prowess, yet her role in cultivation is indispensable.

That means, for now, the choice for secretary would have to be between Su Yunjin and Lin Ning.

Lin Ning has a straightforward character, suitable for fighting and killing, but as for handling affairs... There's always the worry that she might be deceived by others.

So just like with Chen Lingyun in his past life, it has to be Yun Jin.

If this decision had to be made a few months earlier, Yan Yu wouldn't have hesitated in the slightest. But ever since that encounter with Su Yunjin's classmate, the pure camaraderie between the two seemed to have changed somewhat.

Would there be a problem if he still chose her as the secretary?

Yan Yu hesitated only for a moment before making up his mind firmly.

It's just Su Yunjin, what's there to fear?

Quack, I am the strongest in this world! There's no one I can't handle!

"Yun Jin, come over here after you finish training!"

During the break, the girls relaxed on their own, and Su Yunjin came and sat down beside Yan Yu, asking in confusion:

"What's up? Is there something wrong with the way I practice my Taoist methods?"

"Not at all." Yan Yu paused briefly and then asked, "What do you think of Xie Ruoxi?"

After pondering for a moment, Su Yunjin replied:

"She has very impressive talents."

"Since we've taken her in, we can't let her down and waste her talents," Yan Yu said firmly.

"Indeed." Su Yunjin was slightly puzzled; she detected that Yan Yu was probing her and patiently added, "We have to discuss with her and decide on a cultivation path for her. But... I feel she's not very enthusiastic about cultivation."

As expected of gentle and kindhearted Secretary Su, she could see at a glance the lazy nature of the pretty good-for-nothing!

"Right." Yan Yu's tone cooled down, "She doesn't understand cultivators yet, so we need to plan for her and be her guiding light."

Noting his use of "we," Su Yunjin couldn't help but smile:

"So there's something that even you, the captain, can't handle alone. If you want my help, what's the benefit for me?"

"Yun Jin." Yan Yu spoke earnestly, "Shouldn't team members help and care for each other, and love one another? Why bother about personal gains? Don't you think so?"

"Huh?" Su Yunjin asked in surprise, "Captain, do you think our relationship should be one of caring and loving?"

Yan Yu: ?

Are you focusing on the wrong part of that statement?